Performance and Masculinity

The term ‘performance’ has been adopted in a variety of ways by numerous disciplines, from literary and theatre studies, to the social sciences and education, spanning both theory and practice. Marvin Carlson has called attention to the ‘essential contestedness’ of performance, arguing that different appropriations of the term are so disparate that ‘a complete survey of them is hardly possible’.1 It is not my intention in this chapter to attempt such a survey. However, there is a great deal to gain in bringing together differently inflected understandings of the concept; while effectively offering distinct and discrete interpretations, differing approaches do share key themes that are more complementary than contradictory. This chapter explores some of the central tenets of performance across disciplinary boundaries and assesses their usefulness in analysing cinematic performances of masculinity.